JP Morgan Chase said it has received permission from the US authorities to repay in full the $25 billion preferred investment it accepted through the Troubled Asset  Relief Programme. Meanwhile, Bank of New York Mellon said it has raised $2.9 billion toward the repurchase of the $3 billion TARP capital investment made by the US government.

According to Bloomberg, 10 institutions have been given US treasury approval to buy back $68 billion of government shares. While the treasury did not name the firms, those concerned – a number of which have private banking operations – are thought to include Morgan Stanley, Northern Trust, State Street, BB&T and US Bancorp.

As a result of the financial crisis, the US authorities ploughed $700 billion of TARP funds into the nation’s banking sector, with similar moves being made by many governments around the world.

The concept of governments having significant holdings in banks – particularly those which offer wealth management services – is one which has sat uneasily with the industry. Institutions are understandably keen to repay government funds, if only to free themselves of scrutiny on issues such as executive remuneration.